Sunday March 20, 2011 Ed Sessa

Theme: New B-ginnings - B is added to the beginning of each two-word common phrase. Spelling change is made in each transformation, sound remaining the same.

24A. Result of a cock's crow? : BROOD AWAKENING. Rude awakening.

38A. "Bungling for Dummies," e.g.? : BONER'S MANUAL. Owner's Manual.

59A. Shindig for Swahili VIPs? : BWANA DANCE. Wanna dance?

83A. Bedbugs on the Orient Express? : BERTH WORMS. Earthworms. OK, this base phrase has only one word.

97A. Bird with a tan? : BROWNED ROBIN. Round robin.

119A. Hibernation luxuries? : BEAR MATTRESSES. Air mattresses.

3D. "$#%^*& geckos!"? : BLEEPING LIZARDS. Leapin' lizards. This clue made me laugh.

47D. Prize for an inn's best guest? : BOARDER OF THE DAY. Order of the day.

Man, can you get a more consistent & entertaining theme set than this?

I just knew I was going to have a fun solving when I downloaded the puzzle and saw Ed Sessa's byline. He always delivers. Very clean grid, no cheater square, only 66 black squares.

Quite a few head-scratching clues, but they gave me "D'oh!" rather than Saturday's "Huh?".

Across:

1. Fly trap : COBWEB. Thought of HONEY first.

7. Like CD-RW discs : ERASABLE. RW=ReWritable. I wanted READ ONLY (ROM). Dumb!

15. Challenge opener : I DARE. I dare you!

20. Dahl of "Here Come the Girls" : ARLENE

21. Viking weapon : BATTLE AX. What's the name of Thor's ax?

22. Salsa queen Cruz : CELIA

23. Knights' chargers : STEEDS. And 72D. Knight wear : ARMOR. Knight clecho.

26. 1958 creature feature originally entitled "The Molten Meteor" : THE BLOB. No idea. Looks scary.

28. WWII GI, e.g. : AMVET (American Veteran)

29. "La Danse" painter : MATISSE (Henri). Here it is. Matisse wouldn't be where he was without Gertrude Stein.

30. Bread, for gravy : SOP

31. Idiom ending? : ATIC. Ending to the word idiomatic.

33. At one time, once : ERST

35. Fastball, in slang : HEATER

36. NYC commuter svc. that includes the Flushing Line : IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit).

42. Whammies : JINXES

45. Colleague of Boris : LON. Lon Chaney & Boris Karloff? Colleague of horror movies? I don't get this clue.

46. "Voice of Israel" author : EBAN (Abba)

47. Shot from an air gun : BBs

50. Humpty Dumpty et al. : EGGS

51. Very spicy fare : EROTICA. Of course I was thinking of spicy food.

55. Compulsive speeder : LEADFOOT

58. G, in the key of C : SOL

61. Sporty Toyota Camry : SOLARA

62. Sch. whose mascot is Rhody the Ram : URI (University of Rhode Island)

63. Name on a cognac bottle : REMY. Not familiar with the Rémy Martin cognac.

64. Hydroplaning results : SKIDS

66. Pulitzer poet Mark Van __ : DOREN. Who?

67. '70s-'90s Angola neighbor : ZAIRE

69. Syrian leader : ASSAD. Been there forever.

71. Beeped : PAGED

73. Toothbrush option : ORAL-B

75. Olympics balance beam gold medalist after Olga : NADIA (Comaneci)

77. Sponge opening : PORE

78. Child expert LeShan : EDA

81. "Post __": Noël Coward play : MORTEM. Easy guess.

86. Toon Chihuahua : REN. Stimpy's pal.

87. Elusive golden city : EL DORADO. Nice entry.

89. Use ignobly : STOOP TO

90. Skedaddle : BOLT

91. Discouraging words : NOs

92. Roman god : DEUS

94. Bounty initials : HMS. HMS Bounty. Mutiny on the Bounty.

95. Drawing room event? : RAFFLE. I wanted PAINT.

102. Map abbreviation : LAT (Latitude)

103. What doers take : ACTION

106. Early seventh-century date : DCII. 602.

107. Emeril's aptly named French Quarter restaurant : NOLA (New Orleans, LA)

109. Gives birth to : HAS. And 48D. Produced, as fruit : BORE.

112. Ancient three-sided harps : TRIGONS. Needed crossing help.

114. Let out, as hogs : UNPEN

117. Hire an assistant, say : GET HELP

122. It's in the groove : NEEDLE. Lovely clue.

123. Trapped, after "up" : A TREE

124. Strains, as a muscle : OVERUSES

125. Knock off the track : DERAIL

126. Double-check : RE-ADD

127. Travel document : PASSPORT

128. "But still ..." : AND YET

Down:

1. Credits lines? : CASTS. Closing credits in movies.

2. Garden products brand : ORTHO

4. Ewbank who coached Namath in Super Bowl III : WEEB. Hall-of-Famer. Unfortunately I have zero interest in football.

5. Run over : END LATE

6. Confuse with booze : BESOT

7. Tidal movement : EBB

8. Avis adjective : RARA. Rara avis.

9. Concern for Edward Teller : ATOM. Man, what would he be thinking today?

10. Candy maker Russell : STOVER. Russell Stover.

11. Catkin bearers : ALDERS

12. "Not a clue!" : BEATS ME. My typical LAT Saturday response.

13. Barrister's bailiwick : LAW. And 14. Bar, in 13-Down : EXAM.

15. It's mixed with lemonade in an Arnold Palmer : ICE TEA. Arnold Palmer the drink, half lemonade + half iced tea. No d here, I know.

16. Negative state : DENIAL

17. Elite company : A-LIST

18. Wash sans soap : RINSE

19. Like some beavers : EAGER. Eager beavers.

25. Maui medicine men : KAHUNAS. Big shots.

27. Red Lobster freebie : BIB

32. Georgia, once : COLONY

34. Shelved : TABLED

37. Dr.'s orders : RXs.

39. "This is __ toy" : NOT A

40. Oklahoma's "Wheat Capital" : ENID. Educated guess.

41. Lassie's refusal : NAE

42. Savior in a Bach work : JESU. German for Jesus?

43. "Young Frankenstein" role : IGOR

44. Culvert : SEWER.

49. Jazzman Getz : STAN

52. Japanese noodles : RAMEN

53. Artist known for her mother-and-child works : CASSATT (Mary). Impressionist. One of Clear Ayes' favorites.

54. "My Way" lyricist : ANKA (Paul)

56. Evasive maneuvers : DODGES

57. Icy mass : FLOE

59. Payola payer : BRIBER

60. Spanish hero El __ : CID. Argyle's nickname also.

65. Good-time Charlie : SPORT. Why?

68. Like some saxes : ALTO

69. Gator follower? : ADE. Gatorade.

70. Dubbing creations : SIRS. He was dubbed a sir. I was thinking of movie dub.

73. Sign of things to come : OMEN

74. Caramel candy brand : ROLO

76. Teem (with) : ABOUND

77. Drops by : POPS IN

79. Farmer's place? : DELL. "The Farmer in the Dell".

80. Pot part : ANTE

82. Self-titled top ten 1983 album : MADONNA. Guessed.

84. Hostess snack : HO HO. Santa's favorite snack?

85. Baby carrier? : WOMB. Cute.

88. Morning moisture : DEW

90. Curator's deg. : BFA

93. Makes fast : SECURES

96. Youth support group : ALATEEN. Stumped me. Al-Anon for teens.

97. Cinnamon gum brand : BIG RED

98. Shared a place (with) : ROOMED

99. Some railroad cars : DINERS

100. Rejects dramatically, as a contract : RIPS UP

101. Frothy seasonal beverage : NOG

103. Like a case being tried : AT BAR

104. Minos' realm : CRETE

105. Bridal accessory : TIARA

108. __ hand: assist : LEND A

110. Jane Curtin title role : ALLIE. "Kate & Allie"

111. Read letters? : SPELT. Oh, read out letter by letter.

113. Bus route component : STOP

115. Canadian gas : ESSO

116. At no time, in verse : NE'ER

118. Head of the ranch? : HERD

120. New Deal dam org. : TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

121. Past fast flier : SST

Answer grid.

C.C.

PS: Happy Birthday to Spitzboov! Thanks for the knowledge and fun you bring to us every day.

Saturday March 19, 2011 Frederick J. Healy

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 27

This puzzle is anchored by a pair of triple stacks of 10s on the upper right and lower left corners:

5A. 32 ounces at Long John Silver's, e.g. : MEDIUM SIZE. I've never been to the restaurant.

16A. Good time for criticism? : OPEN SEASON. Great clue.

18A. Brains : MASTERMIND

50A. Starts an operation : SETS UP SHOP

54A. One who gives things away : TATTLETALE. Informer.

56A. Half-awake : SLEEPY-EYED

All the above 10s are intersected by four 7s, including a stacked triple column. Lots of 7s in this puzzle.

Some excellent clues today. I really liked the below consecutive clechos:

12D. "Did we get the nod?" : IS IT A GO

13D. Nodding, with "out" : ZONKING

14D. Give the nod : ENDORSE

How was your solving? Tough fight for me. Again, the names gave me trouble.

Across:

1. Jags of the past : XKES. Jaguars sports cars.

17. "__ of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world": Emerson : A RAY. Of no hope to me, this kind of quote clue.

15. Actress Thompson : SADA. Here she is. I wanted EMMA.

19. Merrimack River city : NASHUA. In New Hampshire. Wiki said it's twice named "Best Place to Live in America" in annual surveys by Money magazine. Who knows?

21. __-Z: Camaro model : IROC. I rock. Nailed it.

22. Ref's ruling : TKO (Technical Knock-Out). Boxing ref.

23. "Singin' in the Rain" co-director : DONEN (Stanley). Liked the movie. Never paid attention to who directed it.

24. Caspian country : IRAN

25. Refuge : LAIR

26. "Works for me" : OKEY-DOKEY

28. They may be held up by fans : SIGNS

29. Wkly. message : SER (Sermon)

30. Lea ladies : EWES

31. Easy mark : STOOGE. Patsy.

32. "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" screenwriter : URIS (Leon). "Exodus" & "Trinity" are all I know about him.

33. Kinkajou cousin : COON. Dictionary says Kinkajou is related to raccoon and coati.

34. Color on the Irish flag : ORANGE. A gimme after Sallie's green & orange comment.

37. Group that offers free memberships to spouses : AARP. Unaware of this fact.

38. Mauna __ : LOA

41. Baccarat call : BANCO. I've never played Baccarat.

42. Trying to be quiet : TIPTOEING

44. Dominates : OWNS

45. Villain named Julius : DR NO. Title character from the first James Bond movie. I only know him as Dr. No.

46. Bubblegum pioneer : FLEER. Known for its baseball cards. Went bankrupt a few years ago.

47. Chemical ending : IDE. As in chloride.

48. San Francisco's __ Tower : COIT. Wiki said it's "a monument to the firefighters of San Francisco". Paid by a guy named Coit, "a wealthy socialite who loved to chase fires in the early days of the city's history". Oddball.

49. Eminent : OF NOTE

53. Jazz singer Anderson : IVIE. No idea. She sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra. Died in 1949.

55. Marlin's lost son : NEMO. In "Finding Nemo".

57. Opera conductor Daniel : OREN. Who?

Down:

1. Romantic writing? : X'S AND O'S. Oh, romantic letters.

2. Bar staple : KARAOKE

3. He won comedy and drama Emmys for the same role : ED ASNER. As Lou Grant, I presume.

4. Nickname for an athletic "kid" : SAY HEY. Willie Mays. Cold guy.

5. Home of A. Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans" : MoMA

6. 1972 DDT banner : EPA

7. They may be fond : DESIRES. I only know fond memory.

8. Work basket : IN TRAY

9. Apply to : USE ON

10. Cougar, e.g., for short : MERC. Car again. Mercury Cougar.

11. Rick's pianist : SAM. "Casablanca". "Play it again, Sam".

20. Have : UNDERGO

24. Clanton and a "South Park" sibling : IKES. Wiki said Ike Clanton was a pivotal player in "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral". Completely stranger to me.

25. Royal Arms of England symbol : LION

27. Scrape, to a tot : OWIE

28. Rest, as at an inn : STOP OFF

31. Database command : SORT

32. Family nicknames : UNCs

33. Pitching device? : CAPO. I only know it's a guitar gadget. No idea on its pitch-adjusting function.

34. Some winds : OBOISTS

35. Unfair treatment : RAW DEAL. Opened 6 boxes of Heritage baseball cards so far, no autograph. Unfair!

36. Warren's "Bugsy" co-star : ANNETTE (Bening)

37. Bears no resemblance to peanuts? : AIN'T HAY. Slang. That ain't hay.

38. Be postponed : LIE OVER

39. Previous : ONE TIME

40. Get together about : AGREE ON

42. Sad, on the Seine : TRISTE. Je suis triste. I'm sad.

43. Current event around Christmas? : EL NINO. D'oh, ocean current.

45. Stupid : DOPEY

48. Star of TV's "Trackdown" : CULP (Robert). Stumped me last time. Again today.

49. Personal column? : OP ED

51. Abbr. in Québec place names : STE

52. Triumphant cry : OLE

Answer grid.

Happy 51st Wedding anniversary to Jeannie's parents! And a belated Happy Birthday to Warren!

C.C.